Good morning! 

Man, it’s a hot one. 

It’s already approaching 90 degrees at The Uprising’s Adams Morgan bureau and the heat index will reach triple digits this afternoon. Meanwhile, out West, they’re facing the third major heat wave of the summer with the temperature in death valley hitting 130 degrees, which may have been the highest ever reliably recorded. The western half of the country has been the epicenter of climate change fueled heat that made June the hottest on record and left hundreds dead. 

This is the second daily news round up from The Uprising. After next week, these will become a subscriber only feature. I would really like to come up with a better title than “news round up.” If you enjoyed getting this in your inbox, please sign up! 

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HAVANA: The Cuban government has responded to unprecedented anti-government demonstrations on the island with internet shutdowns, social media blocks, stepped up police patrols, and alleged detentions. Cuban officials have suggested the recent anti-government demonstrations there were the result of an “information war against our country” perpetrated by the U.S. with unnamed companies and publications in Miami fueling #SOSCuba hashtags that spurred the protests. Thousands have taken to the streets in multiple cities in the country in recent days in response to food and supply shortages fueled by the pandemic and U.S. embargo. 

Here in the States, the Democratic Socialists of America have used social media to express support for the Cuban government. 

LAW & ORDER: Trump allies faced tough questions from a federal judge in a marathon six hour virtual hearing on a request from officials in Michigan to discipline lawyers involved in filing lawsuits questioning the state’s results in last year’ presidential election. Those suits included blatant factual errors and the judge, who will rule in the coming weeks, stressed that attorneys have an obligation to do “some minimal due diligence” before submitted statements to the court. The pro-Trump attorneys, including Sidney Powell, mastermind of the “release the Kraken” suite of election lawsuits, responded by, among other things, making analogies to the Soviet Union, Hugo Chavez, and the Nazis.  

RISE OF THE BOTS: A new report from the Stanford Internet Observatory analyzed a “domestic Jordanian disinformation network” that posted content on social media sites in support of King Abdullah II and Jordan’s military. The group used audio that was secretly recorded on the chat site Clubhouse.

FEAR AND LOATHING: Carolina Serrano, a former Hispanic outreach coordinator for the Trump campaign who is running for Congress in Nevada, declared that the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits racial, religious, and gender-based discrimination “should be repealed.” Serrano weighed in while responding to a tweet that criticized Twitter’s suspension of white nationalist Nick Fuentes. In a follow up message, Serrano suggested a reporter who highlighted her comments is afraid of her rise. 

“I struck a nerve,” she wrote. “Tell me you’re scared of my candidacy without telling me you’re scared.”

ON TAP: President Biden is flying to Pennsylvania this afternoon as part of his voting rights push. A majority of Texas’ Democratic lawmakers flew to DC to break quorum in their legislature and stop what they called “dangerous legislation that would trample on Texans’ freedom to vote.”

HOUSEKEEPING: The Uprising has launched a book club exclusively for paying subscribers. It will feature Anna Merlan discussing her book “Republic Of Lies,” which chronicles the rise of the new American conspiracy politics, in a virtual chat with me on July 21 at 7pm.

Founding members will be able to watch the conversation live and submit questions. All paid subscribers will have access to a video of the discussion. The rest of you are out of luck unless you sign up!

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FUN FACT: The classic 1989 action/adventure movie “Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade” features the ancient Nabatean city of Petra as a trap-filled temple that houses the holy grail. Director Steven Spielberg reportedly obtained permission to film at the site directly from Jordan’s late King Hussein after being introduced to him at a charity shooting event. 

That’s all for today! If you haven’t already, please subscribe to The Uprising and tell your friends! And if you work in politics, please don’t forget to leave a (news) tip on your way out → hunter.walker@protonmail.com